Okay, so we went out to lunch today - the first time in quite some time - and we went to Chili's. I love Chili's but I am really trying to eat healthy so I ordered the Turkey Combo which included half a turkey sandwich, salad (dressin on the side) and fries (I had planned my week for the fries). Not to bad, right. The turkey sand was grilled with butter and had some mayo (first time out, didn't think to ask).

Well, I get home and look it up and the turkey sandwich (a whole sandwich, I had a half) it was 1030 calories! That did not include the fries! Holy cow...where did that come from? I honestly have no idea.

Any thoughts?

Its probably the bread, butter, and mayo. Chili's has some "healthier" options - their "Guiltless Grill" but to be honest everything there is still way more calories (points for me - WW) than I would want to spend on one meal! Still a better bet than the rest of the menu though. Sometimes, I just order soup and a side salad when I go out if the menu doesn't have many options.

I used to go to Chili's quite often because before I bought my house there was one in walking distance from my apartment. Over the course of time it dawned on me that I couldn't stand their service. I stopped going just because of that. I tried going back to a Chili's again a few months ago and guess what - it wasn't any better (the service)

Lesson learned. Look up the calories before you go next time.
That being said, don't sweat it. One turkey sandwich isn't going to do a lot of damage in the long run. Get back on track and be glad that it only cost 515 calories to learn an important lesson that you can use the rest of your life

Planning ahead may be a pain, but it really is important!

I'm guessing in part it's because the turkey is lunchmeat turkey and not real turkey breast. Also probably the mayo and butter. Kinda not worth it for the amount of food you get, IMO! Chili's used to be my all-time favorite restaurant BEFORE I started my diet, and now I have found that they have next to nothing healthy there. The Guiltless Grill is OK, but I haven't liked anything from there yet LOL...

I went to Applebee's yesterday with my fiance and my parents. They have a Weight Watchers menu. I'm currently on a low-sodium/low-fat diet. I ordered the Teriyaki Steak & Shrimp Skewers, it came with a plain baked potato and some steamed veggies. Only about 450 calories for the whole thing and it was really filling. I treated myself to a side Caesar salad cuz I hadn't had a real salad in ages, and I still ended up losing weight from yesterday to today.

One of my favorite meals pre-diet was a bowl of tomato soup and a half grilled cheese sandwich, sometimes just the soup. I had wondered why I wasn't losing any weight, and then I saw that the soup contained almost 3/4 of a day's worth of sodium. People put a ton of criticism on carbs and fat, but the truth is, carbs and fat in moderation are fine; it's the salt that really causes the retention.

Sodium does not make us fat. You will hold more water after a very salty meal, causing your scale to show a higher number temporarily, but it's the calories in too much food/drink that make us fat.

Oh, the turkey sandwich at our Chili's has swiss cheese on there, as well as the butter the bread is grilled in, mayo, etc. That does all add up!

I really like Chili's, and often get the Guiltless Grill items ... especially the black bean burger with the steamed veggies. I also ask for extra pico with that. Yummy! Also, the chicken sandwich in a pita. Sometimes I'll get their chicken margarita dinner (about 700 cals.) as a combined lunch/dinner meal, when I'm dieting. As long as you fit those calories into your plan for the rest of the day, that's fine (if I have those 700 cals. at Chili's, then I just have 500 -700 other healthy calories that day!)

When I tried Applebee's a couple of times, I didn't care for their food ... different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I would think the Teriyaki ANYTHING would have a TON of sodium! Teriyaki sauce is made with mostly soy sauce (read: liquid salt), not to mention that almost all restaurant food automatically has a ton of sodium added to extend the shelf life. It may be WW friendly, but I wouldn't think it's low-sodium friendly by far. Of course, I can't find sodium counts on the Applebee's website--how nice of them to hide those numbers

babenwaiting made a good point--did the turkey sandwich have cheese? That will jack up the numbers as well.

On an unrelated note, I stopped going to the Chili's near our house for a different reason. Every time we went there, I was very aware that 90% of the customers were extremely overweight. I have this thing about not wanting to be a "stereotypical" fat girl, so I stopped going there. Weird, I know, but it made me feel very uncomfortable.

Jill, it is funny that you mention the overweight people at Chili's. I was looking around yesterday and most of the people were overweight - including the children . I also noticed that the people that were not overweight all ordered a salad (yep, I was watching).

I think you all are right when you said the bread, butter and mayo. Although it is discouraging because I can make a turkey sandwich with cheese at home for around 400-450 calories so I have to wonder if I am counting something incorrect? Of course, I don't add butter...

Yes, the turkey sand had swiss cheese and, thinking back, it seemed to be 'shiny' so maybe they but butter on that as well? The sand actually ahd way too much turkey on it so I took off all but one slice. I didn't subtract any calories for the day because I didn't think the calories from the turkey were significant (and, I would rather overestimate than underestimate). Unfortunatly I really do not like chicken or seafood so pretty much the guiltless grill is not for me. I thought about getting the black bean burger but, honestly, I thought the turkey sandwich would have been better. Sigh

As for my calories for the day I am allowing myself 1600-1800 and as we went at lunch time I was only a little bit over for the day. I don't feel too bad about that!

Thanks for the input...and, I appreciate Applebee's info but does anyone know of another restaurant that wont totally throw me off? I really do enjoy going out to eat.

Oh, and kittn...why do we do that to ourselves? I went to a Mexican rest (pre-diet) fairly regularly where the service was horrible AND the food was mediocre at best! How sad is that?!

My fiance and I went out to a steakhouse the other night, and I got a 6oz filet mignon (the leanest cut of steak), a caesar salad (should have ordered dressing on the side, but didn't think of it at the time), and a grilled vegetable skewer as my side. I didn't have any of the bread, and I just drank a water with lemon. I think a similar meal could be found at pretty much any steakhouse type restaurant.

Also, if it's calories you're counting, Panera lists the calories for all of their food on their website. So does Red Robin (I've been waiting for them to do this for FOREVER). When we go out, I just try to stick to a protein and veggies--but then, I'm doing South Beach, so I have to avoid the breads and potatoes anyway.

I think any restaurant CAN trip you up, but if you learn some ordering tricks, you are more likely to get what you want.

- I've started to ask a lot more questions about my food.
- I order dressing on the side for all salads.
- If you get veggies, ask if there's anything on them, if there is, ask if they can skip the sauce!
- If a meal comes with fries, I ask to sub a salad or veggies instead (why have them tempt me on the plate)
- Ask for buns to be unbuttered, and order sandwiches with no mayo.
- if you get a steak, ask them not to butter it!

Etc...

I eat out quite frequently. I go to a lot of places like Panera, where I can look up calorie counts, but if I go somewhere else, I make use of a lot of the tricks above...

Thanks for the tips!

Do they really butter steaks?

Heather is so right. I don't think any restaurant is "fattening" ... it's what you eat there! As far as fat people at Chili's, I see a majority of fat people at every restaurant I go to, and in fact, everywhere I look, so I don't think Chili's is any different that way! I am very happy to hear that Red Robin has their calories counts out ... love that restaurant, but you have to think about what you're ordering, as at any place.

I love to eat out ... so I try to look for the lighter things everywhere I go. Good luck dining out, everybody!

Steaks ARE buttered at restaurants. That's why they come out so juicy looking before you even cut into them.

If you eat at a steakhouse, you're getting a steak with butter on it, unless you ask otherwise.

(8 years in food service here!)

I agree that there are obese people at all restaurants - I certainly didn't mean to blast Chili's on that respect - but now that I think of it Italian restaurants don't seem to have as many people that are not just overweight, but obese. Mexican restaurants in our areas have larger stalls to - I guess - make larger people more comfortable. How sad is that?! And butter on steak?! Wow...I don't even know what to say to that.

I also agree that no one single item at a restaurant will make me obese (well, maybe the 'bloomin' onion at Chilis ) but it is more of a lifestyle thing. I am learning the key here is education. Case in point: turkey sand at Chili's. So, I have taken breaks from grading papers this morning and looked up the calories in my favorite foods at my favorite restaurants so that this won't happen again. And, yes, I am VERY disappointed that the Enchalado-style burrito at Baja Fresh adds 600 calories ...but, now I know.

If I thought I couldn't ever eat out again it would certainly make my lifestyle change more difficult!

baby steps...baby steps...